D&D 5E [SPOILERS] Enhancing Tomb of Annihilation

[dropbear8mybaby]

I would count it as a lair action.

Yah, it does specifically call out that he's not in his lair and doesn't have lair actions but then gives him this level-wide ability to do something beyond what he could normally do. My concern with making it a lair action would be that it's incredibly powerful by itself while being a guaranteed TPK if combined with him and the mirror/magnet chamber.

If my group picks Azaka and she takes them to Firefinger, I'd be inclined to have her wait at the bottom.

I didn't make that connection, thanks. I'd still have her go up but would just play up the fear of heights thing. She's there for her heirloom after all.

 

[pukunui]

Yah, it does specifically call out that he's not in his lair and doesn't have lair actions ...

Yeah, I think that's a little disingenuous of them. I think what they mean is that Belchorzh doesn't get the normal suite of beholder lair actions, he just gets this special one. Compare the way it works to this default beholder lair action:

An eye opens on a solid surface within 60 feet of the beholder. One random eye ray of the beholder shoots from that eye at a target of the beholder's choice that it can see. The eye then closes and disappears.

They're more or less identical. The only real difference is that Belchorzh only uses it if someone damages the alien growth (or if they steal something from him and flee). So I would just use it as a lair action, even though they keep saying he doesn't have any.

To be honest, I'm not sure I'd bother having him use it in area 44B anyway, even though there is some alien growth in there. I don't think he really needs to.

I didn't make that connection, thanks. I'd still have her go up but would just play up the fear of heights thing. She's there for her heirloom after all.

Yeah, that could work. It's the one time she makes an exception, and she can be freaking out the whole way up.

 

[CapnZapp]

Azaka/Firefinger: I believe you're focusing on the wrong thing.

If you're concerned the fight might go too easy, have her fail a Will save or something so she can't accompany the heroes to the top.

All the text was trying to say is that a weretiger probably makes the fight too easy.

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[Nebulous]

Reading through the book, I think that the rule about exhaustion is only for days that have a full blown tropical storm. That's the way I read it, anyway. It talks about how on such days the guides know to hunker down; travel on rivers is impossible, and characters who insist on traveling by foot gain 1 level of exhaustion and must save against a second. It then points out that skill checks made to avoid becoming lost are made with disadvantage on storm days.

That's my interpretation of how it is presented in the book. It seems to be in the context of "storm days".

However....given that it's all up to the DM anyway, you can pretty much apply this penalty whenever you want. All it says about determining the weather is that most days in Chult don't go by without some rain, but it may be a mist or a torrential downpour. On days that receive heavy rain, there's a 25% chance of a tropical storm developing.

That's how I read it, and heavy rain days are DM fiat, which can make travel incredibly difficult.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

I think I'm in love with this adventure:

The 10-foot-deep pit contains two giant stone rollers with interlocking stone teeth. Anything larger than a grain of sand gets chewed up between these rollers, taking 132 (24d10) force damage. Any creature reduced to 0 hit points by this damage is ground to a pulp.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Azaka/Firefinger: I believe you're focusing on the wrong thing.

If you're concerned the fight might go too easy, have her fail a Will save or something so she can't accompany the heroes to the top.

All the text was trying to say is that a weretiger probably makes the fight too easy.

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It says that if the fight is going too easy, to add more pterafolk to the battle. Have them circling overhead and joining in as needed, and they may push people off the ledge. with her fear of heights, you could impart disadvantage on all of her rolls to even things out too. Or perhaps she gets pushed off the top of the tower...

 

[fuindordm]

I think I'm in love with this adventure:

That one is good, but the bodak maze is even better! I'm asking each player to make two PCs for sure...

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

That one is good, but the bodak maze is even better! I'm asking each player to make two PCs for sure...

There are so many traps where they use the phrase, "Any creature reduce to 0 hit points by this effect is..." dead. No save, no revival, just dead. I think players may need a few more than two PC's

I'm starting the game with every player having 3 PC's. It's going to be very gritty with a survival/exploration bit to start off so that everyone is used to the idea of this being a very deadly adventure. Hopefully by the time they get to the tomb they'll have learned that they have to be really smart and creative to survive the horrors of it.

 

[pukunui]

Anyone else notice that Liara Portyr is portrayed as wearing heavy metal armor but her statblock has her in studded leather? I'm going to make it so she's got half plate enchanted with the Temperate minor property. Same with Castellan Gruta Halsdottir's full plate (she's a knight). The corporals (veterans) might just have to sweat it out in their splint armor. I guess the privates (guards) will be OK in their chain shirts, though.

 

[CapnZapp]

Commander Portyr is a good example of an important higher-up that could set the perfect example of how magic can solve the dehydration issue if only you're rich or powerful enough.

You know, like D&D heroes ☺

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