D&D 5E Small tweaks to improve Out of the Abyss [DMs toolbox; SPOILERS]

[Mike Mikesh]

Ilvara's Pursuit

2) The closeness of the pursuit (as already noted) needs to be communicated. I like the cutscene idea a lot. Another alternative might be Stool having some 6th sense of their proximity and communicating that to the PCs. Perhaps when they rest?

I had much the same thought, but used Sarith Kzekarit. The spores he was leaving in trail allowed him to be aware of things that were happening in the places they've been. If a rat crossed their path, or Ilvara Mizzrym's scouts did, he would see it.

In retrospect, I might have reconsidered using Stool had I read Chapter 16, "Wedding Invitation," and been aware of the exceptional range of myconid spore communication. But, the advantage of giving Sarith Kzekarit this trail sense is he is temporary. The party could exploit the power only until he finally "blows."

 

[Mike Mikesh]

Ilvara's Pursuit

In the Terrain Encounters table, I was bothered to read that crossing an underground stream reduces the drow pursuit level by 1. This suggests that once the party started crossing the Darklake, pursuit was practically over. Some fixes for this came to mind.

1. The party encounters a fortune teller at Sloobludop as she's leaving town. She flamboyantly gives them dire warnings and offers to tell their fortunes while thieves work the party. However, she is the real deal (as they soon realize). She encounters Ilvara Mizzrym outside the town just before Demogorgon emerges. Thereafter, the seer aids the high priestess with her art, either unwillingly or out of revenge for the party having killed a member of her troop.

2a. While the characters re-equip at the kuo-toan town, the drow enter before they can leave and verbally confront the party. They do not start a battle within that jurisdiction. Instead, Ilvara hires spies to watch and listen, then takes her drow outside of town again to receive intel. When the party leaves, if they have a guide or keelboat owner, he might also be seeking ways to collect a bounty.

2b. Ilvara secretly arranges a means for a party member to obtain a ring of Uncommon rarity. It has the added property of allowing her to track the wearer, something she gave to a former (now dead) lover.

3. The contingent from Menzoberranzan arrives just as the party escapes Velkynvelve. It includes Syrlan Mizzrym, a mage who has considerable knowledge of demons. When Demogorgon destroys Sloobludop, the demon prince is accompanied by a hezrou ally, Hannoch, who receives veneration from his own subset of ixitxachitl. Hannoch lingers behind hunting survivors among the Sloobludop ruins. With Syrlan's guidance, Ilvara approaches the demon and impresses him with her cruel and vicious creativity. She then sets Hannock up as the dread ruler of Sloobludop with Klibdoloogut as his seneschal. Klib turns insane as he quickly learns from her the art of keeping Hannock pleased. As reward, the demon orders the ixitxachitl and followers of the Deep Father to aid Ilvara in finding the party.

 

[Mike Mikesh]

Ilvara's Pursuit

Another thought: Ilvara Mizzrym can be a thread of continuity through the entire life of the campaign, but as an undead. When the party kills her (likely when they are about the reach the surface) she becomes an entity that obsessively continues the pursuit. Ilvara haunts their trail when they return to the Underdark and sets up trouble for them along the ways ahead.

They can vanquish her each time, but only temporarily. Perhaps as Ilvara died the first time, she dramatically pronounced a curse that also sets up the condition by which the party can permanently put her to rest. For instance, "I swear by the Manacles of Mizzrym...," could refer to a revered object of house legacy. If the Manacles are destroyed, or used in an abjuration ritual, Ilvara can be sent to her afterlife. This means the party needs to reach Menzoberranzan, and perhaps take advantage of the chaos following Vizeran's ritual so as to access the Manacles.

In our campaign, Ilvara is a wraith obsessed with enslaving the party members as her specters. For now, though, she is bound to aid their missions "until demons rage," at which time she can make good on her threats. This came about after the party recovered a necromantic implement at the Lost Tomb of Khaem. A twisted NPC ally of the party used it to call up Ilvara. Although the party does not want help from the embittered spirit, she lurks and provides them with information anyway.

 

[Mike Mikesh]

Non-Player Character Prisoners

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the way NPCs were handled. I get that it's supposed to both streamline prep and illustrate the wonders of bounded accuracy, but I'd much rather have fewer NPCs who scale with the heroes. Not least because I'd rather have fewer NPCs with colorful backgrounds and personalities than an endless supply of faceless fodder.

Indeed, the number of non-player characters employed in Out of the Abyss seemed excessive. Knowing that by Chapter 10 – “Descent into the Depths” there would be even more NPCs, I gave some early thought as to how to handle it.

In travel and combat, we considered the group to be in two functionally separate parts. The battle grid would normally include just the active player characters. It was assumed the non-player characters and "gray sleep" PCs were off frame engaged in something comparable. If the PCs were victorious, so were the NPCs. If the PCs were defeated and captured, so were the NPCs. (Similarly, if the PCs found food or water, so did the NPCs.)

However, if a player character was incapacitated, and it didn't look like he would be revived soon, I'd allow his player to draw a random NPC so as to keep him in the game, if not fighting, then doing things in-keeping with the personality. This implied the non-player character battle was going well enough that the random NPC came over to see how the player characters were doing.

Sometimes I would select an NPC to "ride in the front seat." The character could interact with the PCs as they made decisions about situations. This way I could promote role playing, but not role play the whole gaggle.

But, I particularly put the NPCs to use when the characters visited Underdark communities, the first being Sloobludop. Before the group entered each town, I listed what each NPC would be up to during the visit. As a consequence, I could use them as drivers for situations the player characters could react to.

I think all of the original prisoner NPCs are still alive in our campaign. They have gone their separate ways in the Underdark. I'm planning for the PCs to meet again two or three of them in the course of building up to the finale.

 

[Mike Mikesh]

Bad Dreams

Out of the Abyss Chapter 1 - "Prisoners of the Drow" talked about the characters having "Bad Dreams" while resting in the slave pen. I assumed troubled dreams and visions were caused by the demonic presence in the Underdark, and would continue even after they escaped until they could reach the surface.

I had players roll a DC 10 Constitution check for each character during a long rest. The one that failed by the most had a nightmare, and I'd ask the player to narrate what the character’s experienced. Showcasing the character this way encouraged their use of background, and also helped better acquaint the others with that particular character. Later in the campaign, I'd create the dream, either keeping it simple and creepy, or doing something more elaborate with symbolism relating to a particular demon lord.

On a natural 1, something special could happen. The nightmare might have been the psychic echo of a real event. The group could soon come upon the scene, and the character that had the dream had to make a DC 10 Wisdom save to avoid taking D6 psychic damage from the shock. Another possibility is the character wakes up possessed by a cacodemon, and would remain so for an hour. A Protect from Evil and Good is enough to expel it. Until then, a DM could draw on The Exorcist for inspiration.

Bad dreams while in the Underdark can be further exploited by involving the characters in a shared dream as a self-contained encounter. An example of this might be a dream that foreshadows the Fetid Wedding.

The PCs are guests near the back during a wedding in a glade. The veiled bride holds a skull on which grows of bouquet of colorful fungi. The ceremony finished, the groom, Sarith Kzekarit, walks her back down the aisle. Rather than the guests throwing rice, it streams from the top of his head. As the guests are showered with it, they become spore servants, but no one is alarmed. At the very back is a decorated serving table with plates, wedding cake, and silver knife. The "cake" is Stool adhered to a cutting board and trying to escape. The characters must rescue Stool and escape the "ushers," guests, and things in the woods. How real the dream is, and the degree of danger, is up to the DM.

 

[Voi_D_ragon]

One thing I'm not understanding as I read through the module is: how do you make it blatantly obvious to the PCs that the drow are going to chase them? Maybe have one of the NPCs comment on how they're going to have to evade pursuit?
Because it seems to be assumed the PCs would know Ilvara is going to become absolutely obsessed with them and will try to chase them to the ends of the world, but I know for a fact that my players wouldn't assume that right away.
Maybe have them encounter the drow scouts on the second day or so of journeying to reming them, without having the rest of the pursuers catch up? Like a few advanced scouts or something.

 

[Mike Mikesh]

Ilvara's Pursuit

Maybe have them encounter the drow scouts on the second day or so of journeying to remind them, without having the rest of the pursuers catch up?

Perhaps after the party is already hours away from Velkynvelve, a bat wearing something silvery makes a few passes. It gets caught in webbing, at which time they can identify it with certainty that it is Ilvara’s hunting bat. This serves as confirmation that the hunt is on without the drow being so close that the advanced scouts have reached them.

Another possibility, as the campaign opens, Ilvara Mizzrym and a posse have just returned from a longer than expected chase to recapture three goblin escapees. Remarks from the PC’s captors, probably Jorlan Duskryn, might reveal that Ilvara has fond memories of hunting in the Kyorbblivvin. Anymore, something has happened that she is obsessed with hunting (madness). (He suspects, she even enabled the goblins to escape so she could chase them.)

Building on this, perhaps the characters happened on a crippled drow soon after they escape Velkynvelve. Masin, to give him a name, was part of Ilvara’s posse during her “mad” pursuit of the goblins. When he fell, she gave him up for dead and continued the chase. He crawled nearly all the way back. Masin warns them (either for their help or as they kill him) that Ilvara will pursue them to no end.

Thinking about the above opener with the goblins, this might be a good opportunity to acquaint the characters with Ilvara and her brand of cruelty. After returning, she orders all captives lined up outside with the goblins prepared to be fed to giant spiders. (See Chapter 1 – “Feeding Time.”)

She then asks questions. “You! Do you know the name of that goblin?” “You. Did this goblin ever do anything wrong to you? No?“ “Who here would like for me to spare these goblins? No one?” “How about if I spare just one? You, tell me which one I should spare? This one who keeps sobbing? Or, this one with the big eyes? He seems to be looking a lot at you over there. Are you his friend? Do you want to save him? Come here. Throw yourself to the spiders and I will spare him. If not, push him in yourself, and you can live instead.” And, how do the newly arrived player characters react to her…?

 

[Mike Mikesh]

The Oozing Temple

I treated the Oozing Temple in Out of the Abyss as a slyth pilgrimage site dedicated to Jannath (Chauntea). Reality at that shrine was altered by the passage of Juiblex reshaping and desecrating it into something blasphemous honoring the Faceless Lord.

Glabbagool was a curious, even playful, "gelatinous cube." It preserved a drow skeleton inside it to use much like a puppet (albeit slow motion) with which it tried to imitate those around him. Animated to appear as if walking, the boots of speed on the skeleton had the effect of doubling the cube's speed continuously allowing it to stay up with the party.

The skeleton held a copper mace of kuo-toan styling, the head of which was shaped like a bloated spiny fish. Magical, the head could ignite producing a green, slow waving torch flame that would not be extinguished even underwater. A blow delivered an additional 1 point of fire damage. Glabbagool never used it as a weapon, only as a light that gave the cube an eerie green glow.

During a battle with black puddings in our game, a PC asked to borrow the bludgeoning weapon, and the cube obliged. Suddenly, the drow skeleton froze and started separating into disorganized bones, and the cube acted strangely. The PC wisely pushed the mace back in immediately.

As they soon learned, Glabbagool was not a gelatinous cube. It was the mace, a sentient weapon that saw itself as the cube it controlled. Originally, Glabbagool was a kuo-toan explorer touring the temple and was caught when Juiblex arrived. Although the cube metabolized the body, it preserved its goggler eyes, keeping them nourished when it discovered it could actually see through them (inspired by the depiction of Glabbagool on page 34).

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[Mike Mikesh]

Threat to the Surface

Out of the Abyss doesn't make it entirely clear why the surface factions feel compelled to enter the Underdark themselves in force, instead of considering measures less dramatic. It might even be attractive to some to just let the demons and the evil races kill one another off.

A DM can create events to indicate the Surface is in danger, and that a passive reactionary approach is likely inadequate. The following examples can be conveyed as taproom rumors. They can also be the subject of brief adventures between sojourns to the Underdark.

• Bizarre, dangerous fungi are growing in the forests of Luruar.
• Oozes are emerging from the sewers of Silverymoon.
• "Vapors" rising from deep within the earth are causing madness.
• Cultists are preparing for the arrival of [demon lord name].
• Demons possessing people claim to be advanced scouts.

Inspired by Volo's Guide to Monsters, I used the gnolls. Hyenas emerged from a gate somewhere in the High Forest and transformed. Profiteers (potential campaign villains) provided these gnolls with reclaimed weapons before the war bands began seeking ways into the Northdark. Many of these ravaged their way to mines in the Surbin Hills to descend to the Labyrinth region.

 

[Mike Mikesh]

Underdark Communities

The Northdark map on page 19 of Out of the Abyss only shows the important encounter areas. This is an opportunity for a DM to use his imagination in adding other drow holdings, troglodyte communities, duergar mining towns, illithid enclaves, etc. scattered from upperdark to lowerdark. Reasonably friendly locales could be important to the second half of the campaign for supporting surface coalition outposts. Some potential ideas follow.

Titch - Chitine community ruled by a choldrith named Lixol. Their main products are different types of high quality silk thread and silk fabric. This is possibly located at one end of the Silken Paths. A drider, Challara, with ettercap followers, seeks to overthrow Lixol in a religious war.

Kesstree - Colony upon the Darklake governed by the drow House Kilund whose wealth is in timber and rothe wool. Two nearby faerzress infused cavern systems are forested with zurkhwood, one of a fast growing variety, the other of especially hard woods. The main residence is a hollowed natural column on the water that serves as a defensive keep. It is ringed by the town, a network of wooden walkways and buildings supported over the water upon posts driven into the lake bed.