D&D 5E (2014) Enhancing "Storm King's Thunder"

Prakriti · Apr 9, 2017

It's almost time for Iymrith.

5 level-10 PCs with potions of giant size (x2 HP and x3 weapon damage)
vs.
CR 23 Ancient Blue Dragon.

Any thoughts? Too easy? Too hard?

Demetrios1453 · Apr 9, 2017

Prakriti said:
It's almost time for Iymrith.

5 level-10 PCs with potions of giant size (x2 HP and x3 weapon damage)
vs.
CR 23 Ancient Blue Dragon.

Any thoughts? Too easy? Too hard?

Interestingly, I just finished running SKT today. However, since the characters had defeated all the giant lords, they fought Iymrith at level 14. At that point it was relatively easy, but certainly not a cakewalk; they took some relatively decent damage before it was all done.

One thing I altered is that when Iymrith fled after reaching the damage threshold to retreat to her lair, she used her burrow action to fill in the hole that leads down to her lair from the center of the amphitheater. This forced the party to drop their giant size to fit through the doors that lead down into her lair (having not found or fallen through the alternative entrances). So if it seems your party is having too easy of a time of it, you can do this as well.

Prakriti · Apr 10, 2017

I think I'll keep the yuan-ti around, but make a morale check every time they take damage. They don't want to anger Iymrith, but neither do they want to lose their lives.

Otherwise, I'm afraid solo Iymrith will be as easy as solo Strahd.

Davelozzi · Apr 10, 2017

Demetrios1453 said:
Interestingly, I just finished running SKT today. However, since the characters had defeated all the giant lords, they fought Iymrith at level 14. At that point it was relatively easy, but certainly not a cakewalk; they took some relatively decent damage before it was all done.

Did your players seek out the extra giant lords by their own choice, or did you change it so that each conch would only teleport a single individual? I am about to start a Storm King's Thunder campaign with 5 PCs an was considering that route when I get to that point, as using the ascending giant types a la Against the Giants was pretty much what drew me to SKT in the first place. Well, that and the fact that I have always had a soft spot for the Sword Coast North/Savage Frontier and this campaign really makes great use of the whole region.

Also, did you beef up the additional giant lairs (or would you recommend doing so), or did you find that they played pretty well as is, even when the P.C.s started to get ahead of the recommended levels?

Demetrios1453 · Apr 10, 2017

Davelozzi said:
Did your players seek out the extra giant lords by their own choice, or did you change it so that each conch would only teleport a single individual? I am about to start a Storm King's Thunder campaign with 5 PCs an was considering that route when I get to that point, as using the ascending giant types a la Against the Giants was pretty much what drew me to SKT in the first place. Well, that and the fact that I have always had a soft spot for the Sword Coast North/Savage Frontier and this campaign really makes great use of the whole region.

Also, did you beef up the additional giant lairs (or would you recommend doing so), or did you find that they played pretty well as is, even when the P.C.s started to get ahead of the recommended levels?

After Iymrith fled from the storm giant court, the giants were unable to discover where her lair was located. So they asked the party to deal with the remaining rebel giant nobles in the meantime in order to regain their conches and to see if they had any clues where Iymrith's lair was located (of course, the final giant they fought, the cloud giant countess, had treasonous correspondence with Iymrith).

And no, the fire giant lair and the cloud giant castle were still tough for higher-level groups. They thought they could attack Sansuri head-on in her throne room at 13th level and were quickly disabused of that notion, having to flee out the hole in her throne room and to their airship before there was a TPK when her cloud giant guards barged into the throne room.

Davelozzi · Apr 18, 2017

Anyone have any thoughts about best time of year (in game) to begin SKT? To those that have played through, roughly how much time passed over the course of the campaign?

Sent from my iPhone using EN World

Prakriti · Apr 18, 2017

Davelozzi said:
Anyone have any thoughts about best time of year (in game) to begin SKT? To those that have played through, roughly how much time passed over the course of the campaign?

Six months of in-game time for us. I recommend starting in the spring (Tarsakh or early Mirtul), so the characters don't have to deal with the winter.

dropbear8mybaby · Apr 18, 2017

Prakriti said:
Six months of in-game time for us. I recommend starting in the spring (Tarsakh or early Mirtul), so the characters don't have to deal with the winter.

I started in autumn specifically because I want them to deal with the winter and be afraid of the Ring.

MiraMels · Apr 18, 2017

Davelozzi said:
Anyone have any thoughts about best time of year (in game) to begin SKT? To those that have played through, roughly how much time passed over the course of the campaign?

(Gosh, I've been meaning to post in this thread for ages, we wrapped 'act 1' of a planned three a short while ago and I wanted to update y'all on how it went and what we did.)

I started the adventure in Triboar, the night before Highharvestide. We ended on the 14th of Marpenoth, sixteen in-game days over twelve sessions of play, and we covered Chapters 2, 3, and 6. (We usually play for around four hours a session)

During these sixteen days, the party travelled on foot from Triboar to Everlund (Darathra's sidequest), then by riverboat to Silverymoon (Othvir's sidequest), then headed into the Evermoors because they wanted to fight this one particular stone giant I had mentioned a few times (I just moved Deadstone Cleft into the Evermoors and let them run through the stone giant dungeon a level early, but didn't give them a conch for it.)

We have a Totem Barbarian who took the Elk totem feature at 6th level, which doubles the overland movement speed of the party, so they get around quite quickly without any of the additional movement options the book allows for. Between her and the Harper's teleport circles, I'm not sure they're going to need any additional travel abilities. (All the better, the airship is a little silly for my tastes.)

My weather descriptions during Act 1 were all about the temperature dropping and intermittent rains heralding the beginning of 'mud season'. I'm going to skip ahead a little and start Act 2 in the middle of winter, after 'mud season' has given way to winter snow, and the North has already frozen over for the season. They want to head to Yartar from Silverymoon, so I'm going to have them make the trip down the frozen river on ice skates!

Inconnunom · Apr 18, 2017

Prakriti said:
It's almost time for Iymrith.

5 level-10 PCs with potions of giant size (x2 HP and x3 weapon damage)
vs.
CR 23 Ancient Blue Dragon.

Any thoughts? Too easy? Too hard?

I'm also interested in this.

Also I'm wondering about adding in Against the Giants (which starts at level 11) before dealing with Iymrith. Or possibly after. Anyone have any thoughts on this?