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Guest 6801328
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Yeah, fair enough. I also really want NPC cards.
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D&D 5E Small tweaks to improve Out of the Abyss [DMs toolbox; SPOILERS]
- Thread starter CapnZapp
- Start date
As for Ilvara..... I think you can do both.
If the PCs have been putting effort into moving fast, hiding tracks, etc. Then the only chance the (now obsessed) Ilvara has is to guess where the PCs are going is to guess which town they are heading towards to get out....then get there first.
But... give the PCs a boost as a reward. IOW, if the Drow catch them in the caves, the Drow have the advantage and there isn't much the PCs can do. But since the PCs did such a good job, they catch the Drow, or get warning, or can get help from the town..... (It will depend a bit on which town this ends up being....)
Problem: An average less than 1 fight a day during travel time makes the fights pretty trivial
Solution: Determine that sleeping in the Underdark is not very restful. Make it difficult to get a Long Rest.
1) It is a DC X Con check for each PC
2) It is a DC X Con *group* check
3) It is straight X% chance.
4) It takes X nights of sleep to get a long rest.
Personally, I am probably going to say its a straight % chance, but roll it behind the screen and just decide when I want it to work.
If the PCs have been putting effort into moving fast, hiding tracks, etc. Then the only chance the (now obsessed) Ilvara has is to guess where the PCs are going is to guess which town they are heading towards to get out....then get there first.
But... give the PCs a boost as a reward. IOW, if the Drow catch them in the caves, the Drow have the advantage and there isn't much the PCs can do. But since the PCs did such a good job, they catch the Drow, or get warning, or can get help from the town..... (It will depend a bit on which town this ends up being....)
Problem: An average less than 1 fight a day during travel time makes the fights pretty trivial
Solution: Determine that sleeping in the Underdark is not very restful. Make it difficult to get a Long Rest.
1) It is a DC X Con check for each PC
2) It is a DC X Con *group* check
3) It is straight X% chance.
4) It takes X nights of sleep to get a long rest.
Personally, I am probably going to say its a straight % chance, but roll it behind the screen and just decide when I want it to work.
Last edited:
I made up an interesting terrain feature. They were traveling in a 7-8' wide passage when they got attacked by Roctopuses coming out of some crevises. This way they could be 2 abreast to fight, but only if one of them would "Squeeze" and fight at disadvantage.
It let them be clever and have someone squeeze and 'help' or squeeze and cast a save spell.... Put an interesting twist on the fight.
Also, my PCs took the manacles with them, and used them as improvised weapons..... The Barbarian is doing so well with them he is wants to turn them into a 'normal' weapon.
It let them be clever and have someone squeeze and 'help' or squeeze and cast a save spell.... Put an interesting twist on the fight.
Also, my PCs took the manacles with them, and used them as improvised weapons..... The Barbarian is doing so well with them he is wants to turn them into a 'normal' weapon.
ad_hoc
(they/them)
You certainly could have all of the NPCs travel with the PCs. I don't think that is what is intended though.
The NPCs give colour to their time in captivity. The PCs build rapport or feuds. Then time comes to escape, who do they save? Who do they ally with? Who gets killed on the way out?
Having many NPCs allows the PCs choice and adds drama to the chapter.
Some spiced up random encounters for OotA
I was a bit wary reading the comments about the looseness and lack of detail, but it's actually a complete boon. I have spend a lovely Sunday evening building random encounters: terrain + creature + couple of minutes thinking how the two would play together: Here's my list so far for the first 20 days. Almost totally based on the dice where they fell. I recommend everyone to give it a try.
- Day 1 evening: Sinkhole + Escaped human slave (commoner or new PC). DC 12 Dex save or fall into 20’ pit 2d6 damage. Slave has a club.
- Day 3 evening (camp attack): 1 orc and 1 orc eye of Gruumsh raiders (8 50p gemstones)
- Day 5 morning: Lost 3 hours. Underground Stream + 6 Kuo-toa trader/fishermen (bit mad) with rotting fish guts in jars (22 gp of general goods + 12 days of provisions for sale). Know way to Sloopbludoop. If anyone wants to buy rotten fish guts they can. They are disgusting but fortifying. DC 10 constitution check. Fail lose 1 hp, save gain 1d6 hp. They can buy 4 jars for 1 gp each.
- Day 6 evening: Fungus cavern + Ochre Jelly. Nightlights, Timmasks, Bluecaps, Ripplebark. Orchre jelly has killed and digested a humanoid. What’s left is the skeleton clutching a Longsword)
- Day 7 morning Lost 8 hours : Muck pit + 4 gas spores (Beholder Memory - suffering grievous injury after fierce battle with Drow Archmage)
- Day 9 morning: Gas leak + Mad Duergar with scroll (cantrip - Minor Illusion) trying to breathe the gas.
- Day 10 Lost 2 hours
- Day 10 evening: Party realize they have camped in a Boneyard + 1 Minotaur skeleton. If they explore they find piles of weird bones and horns. The minotaur attacks if they disturb the bones. Otherwise it will attack in middle of night, or when the party passes near it to leave cave.
- Day 11 Lost 5 hours. Cliff and Ladder + Mad Deep Gnome Sliding down ladder with a weird patchwork robe flapping in the breeze being used as a makeshift air brake. He is quite mad and has not a care in the world, more or less oblivious to everything going on around him. The only way to get through to him and get the cloak is to a) attack and kill him, b) to cure him of madness (greater restoration), b) to charm him or enchant him to give you the cloak d) to Persuade DC20. Intimidation or any other kind of approach just makes him cackle with laughter. Robe of Useful items: 2 daggers, 2 bullseye lanterns, 2 steel mirrors, 2 10-poles, 2 50’ ropes, 2 sacks, portable ram, iron door, 4 potions of healing, scroll lightning bolt, scroll spider climb, riding horse with saddle bags, rowboat (12’), 10x100gp gems, bag of 100p, silver coffer 500gp, wooden ladder 24ft, pit 10’, 2 mastiffs, window 2 x 4 x 2 deep.
- Day 13 Lost 1 hour
- Day 14 morning Lost 4 hours : Steam Vent + 3 escaped goblin slaves (hostile)
- Day 14 camped: Horrid sounds DC11 wisdom check or madness level increases by 1
- Day 15 morning: Lava swell, Tremor opens up lava filled fissure behind them. DC10 de save or 3d6 damage. Drow pursuit drops by 1
- Day 15 evening: Hundreds of feet of Webs extending into tunnel + 4 giant spiders. Travel distance cut by half for the day.
- Day 16 evening: Rope bridge over river (if cut reduce Drow pursuit by 1) + 6 piercers disguised as stalactites 30 ft above the bridge. Every piercer that misses has 50% chance of damaging bridge by 3d6. The bridge can take 25 damage. If it is smashed through everyone must take a Dex saving throw (DC 12) or fall into the river taking no damage but being attacked by a giant lamprey (treat as giant constrictor snake with blood sucking ability).
- Day 17 evening: Orog lair. Human corpse wearing Chainmail Armour. 2 Orogs perching on ledges 40 ft above. Hurl javelins down. If the party inspect corpse first the Orogs can gain surprise.
- Day 19 morning: Gorge 300 ft deep. Difficult climb. Travel Slowed by half. Giant Roctopus lairs at bottom of gorge in a crevasse. Gains surprise automatically unless the party is being vigilant, has advantage on initiative. Inside crevasse is an obsidian statue of Lolth (100g)
- Day 20 morning: Crystal clusters, Fist sized chunks of quartz Faerzress infused crystals. As party are inspecting the crystal an Umber Hulk bursts out of the wall. Making one of the crystals explode. It is blinded for 1 minute. Disadvantage to attack and can’t use confusing gaze. Inside the wall where the hulk burst out there are 5 50 gp gems, a +2 shortsword, a staff of charming (charm person, command, comprehend languages 10 charges, 1/day immunity to enchantment spells), bracers of defense (+2 AC if you are not wearing armor or shield).
I was a bit wary reading the comments about the looseness and lack of detail, but it's actually a complete boon. I have spend a lovely Sunday evening building random encounters: terrain + creature + couple of minutes thinking how the two would play together: Here's my list so far for the first 20 days. Almost totally based on the dice where they fell. I recommend everyone to give it a try.
- Day 1 evening: Sinkhole + Escaped human slave (commoner or new PC). DC 12 Dex save or fall into 20’ pit 2d6 damage. Slave has a club.
- Day 3 evening (camp attack): 1 orc and 1 orc eye of Gruumsh raiders (8 50p gemstones)
- Day 5 morning: Lost 3 hours. Underground Stream + 6 Kuo-toa trader/fishermen (bit mad) with rotting fish guts in jars (22 gp of general goods + 12 days of provisions for sale). Know way to Sloopbludoop. If anyone wants to buy rotten fish guts they can. They are disgusting but fortifying. DC 10 constitution check. Fail lose 1 hp, save gain 1d6 hp. They can buy 4 jars for 1 gp each.
- Day 6 evening: Fungus cavern + Ochre Jelly. Nightlights, Timmasks, Bluecaps, Ripplebark. Orchre jelly has killed and digested a humanoid. What’s left is the skeleton clutching a Longsword)
- Day 7 morning Lost 8 hours : Muck pit + 4 gas spores (Beholder Memory - suffering grievous injury after fierce battle with Drow Archmage)
- Day 9 morning: Gas leak + Mad Duergar with scroll (cantrip - Minor Illusion) trying to breathe the gas.
- Day 10 Lost 2 hours
- Day 10 evening: Party realize they have camped in a Boneyard + 1 Minotaur skeleton. If they explore they find piles of weird bones and horns. The minotaur attacks if they disturb the bones. Otherwise it will attack in middle of night, or when the party passes near it to leave cave.
- Day 11 Lost 5 hours. Cliff and Ladder + Mad Deep Gnome Sliding down ladder with a weird patchwork robe flapping in the breeze being used as a makeshift air brake. He is quite mad and has not a care in the world, more or less oblivious to everything going on around him. The only way to get through to him and get the cloak is to a) attack and kill him, b) to cure him of madness (greater restoration), b) to charm him or enchant him to give you the cloak d) to Persuade DC20. Intimidation or any other kind of approach just makes him cackle with laughter. Robe of Useful items: 2 daggers, 2 bullseye lanterns, 2 steel mirrors, 2 10-poles, 2 50’ ropes, 2 sacks, portable ram, iron door, 4 potions of healing, scroll lightning bolt, scroll spider climb, riding horse with saddle bags, rowboat (12’), 10x100gp gems, bag of 100p, silver coffer 500gp, wooden ladder 24ft, pit 10’, 2 mastiffs, window 2 x 4 x 2 deep.
- Day 13 Lost 1 hour
- Day 14 morning Lost 4 hours : Steam Vent + 3 escaped goblin slaves (hostile)
- Day 14 camped: Horrid sounds DC11 wisdom check or madness level increases by 1
- Day 15 morning: Lava swell, Tremor opens up lava filled fissure behind them. DC10 de save or 3d6 damage. Drow pursuit drops by 1
- Day 15 evening: Hundreds of feet of Webs extending into tunnel + 4 giant spiders. Travel distance cut by half for the day.
- Day 16 evening: Rope bridge over river (if cut reduce Drow pursuit by 1) + 6 piercers disguised as stalactites 30 ft above the bridge. Every piercer that misses has 50% chance of damaging bridge by 3d6. The bridge can take 25 damage. If it is smashed through everyone must take a Dex saving throw (DC 12) or fall into the river taking no damage but being attacked by a giant lamprey (treat as giant constrictor snake with blood sucking ability).
- Day 17 evening: Orog lair. Human corpse wearing Chainmail Armour. 2 Orogs perching on ledges 40 ft above. Hurl javelins down. If the party inspect corpse first the Orogs can gain surprise.
- Day 19 morning: Gorge 300 ft deep. Difficult climb. Travel Slowed by half. Giant Roctopus lairs at bottom of gorge in a crevasse. Gains surprise automatically unless the party is being vigilant, has advantage on initiative. Inside crevasse is an obsidian statue of Lolth (100g)
- Day 20 morning: Crystal clusters, Fist sized chunks of quartz Faerzress infused crystals. As party are inspecting the crystal an Umber Hulk bursts out of the wall. Making one of the crystals explode. It is blinded for 1 minute. Disadvantage to attack and can’t use confusing gaze. Inside the wall where the hulk burst out there are 5 50 gp gems, a +2 shortsword, a staff of charming (charm person, command, comprehend languages 10 charges, 1/day immunity to enchantment spells), bracers of defense (+2 AC if you are not wearing armor or shield).
warderbrad
Explorer
I like all these little fixes, I may not use the one about the battle when leaving the underdark, as I think it gives a sense of closure. However there is one that I really disagree with being an issue in the first place.
If we consider the books by R.A.Salvatore as reference material for this we see that in Menzoberranzen that drow sleep on pallets or some on actual bed like structures. Why would we assume that those in an outpost sleep in spider webbing hammocks or even cocoon pods like some kind of worm changing into a butterfly? It is not keeping to the theme of how the drow have been portrayed in the past. I don't understand the logic to this.
If we consider the books by R.A.Salvatore as reference material for this we see that in Menzoberranzen that drow sleep on pallets or some on actual bed like structures. Why would we assume that those in an outpost sleep in spider webbing hammocks or even cocoon pods like some kind of worm changing into a butterfly? It is not keeping to the theme of how the drow have been portrayed in the past. I don't understand the logic to this.
CapnZapp
Legend
Not everyone care about the books.
Some people prefer a more...fantastical approach.
In this case I merely quoted (paraphrased) the original author of the review - the idea is his, not mine. See the first post.
But thank you for pointing out the "boringly mundane" descriptions aren't the adventure authors being uninventive!
MarkB
Legend
I actually thought that the wooden meditation-pallets added a nice touch of flavour to the description, acknowledging that the Drow (being elves) don't actually sleep, they meditate, and need a quiet spot in which to do so, rather than a comfy bed.
The priestess has a comfy bed, but it's not for sleeping in.
The priestess has a comfy bed, but it's not for sleeping in.
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