D&D 5E Jungles of Chult hexcrawl setup

[pukunui]

OK, after writing down numerous options and running through them with the three members of my family who will be playing in this campaign (my wife and two of my daughters), I have settled on the following:

Act I: [Insert pithy name here]
The campaign begins with fresh-faced 1st level wannabe adventurers somewhere on the Sword Coast (probably Waterdeep). They meet Volo and impress him enough that he asks them to look for a missing friend of his. This friend went to explore the fabled Sunless Citadel and never came back. So the PCs gear up and head off to take a look.

I will have to make Volo's missing friend be one of the two people the evil druid has enthralled, so that they have to go through the entire adventure before finding the friend.

When they return to Volo for their reward, he admits he's a bit short on cash and so gives them the deed to an old tavern in Port Nyanzaru! He bought it when he was there recently on his book tour. In fact, he will also give them a copy of his Guide to Monsters for free, telling them they'll need it if they decide to go exploring in the jungle.

Act II - Chult: Welcome to the Jungle
The PCs are robbed of some of their wealth by Aremag on the way to Port Nyanzaru. Furthermore, when they arrive at their new address, they find it is in need of repair. So what do they do? Maybe they take part in the dino races to make a quick buck. Maybe they team up with the Flaming Fist. Maybe they do some other odd jobs around the place. Here would be a good place for Faroul and Gondolo to tempt them with a dragon's treasure hoard, and for Musharib to tempt them with riches from Hrakhamar. Wakanga might also ask them to fetch Vorn's shield guardian, and maybe Azaka will ask them to fetch her mask from Firefinger.

I can potentially still work in the later part of the Dragon Heist storyline, with a fireball erupting outside their new home and an investigation that leads to the temple of Gond in Port Nyanzaru, where they see a little model of a Lantanese submarine and also find out about the Lantanese nimblewrights. Jarlaxle and co can be in town at this stage. There can still be a hunt for a hidden cache of treasure that the Amnians had to leave behind. Perhaps the trove is hidden in one of the Old City ziggurats.

Act III - Chult: The Next Level
Now that the PCs are established in Port Nyanzaru as hearty adventurers, the death curse strikes! Jessamine the merchant prince asks for their help because she is suffering from the curse. Maybe even one of the PCs could be at this point, if any of them have died on their previous forays into the jungle.

They must find their way to Omu. I'll probably go with the route I used the last time I ran this: Eku is their guide and takes them to Orolunga (via Mbala) to consult with the oracle. From there, they cut across the Aldani Basin to Kir Sabal, where they find they have to go fetch a black rose from Nangalore so they can fly above the jungle to find Omu that way. They can also meet Mwaxanare, whom they will have heard about while in Port Nyanzaru, and can decide if they want to help restore her to the throne or not. Depends on how much they end up liking or disliking the merchant princes, I guess.

They go to Omu. They deal with Ras Nsi, who will hopefully have been a (distant) thorn in their side so far. I'd like to play up the yuan-ti as shadowy antagonists to get them more interested in dealing with Ras. (Of course the naga oracle will also try and get them to promise to kill him to help restore the balance in Chult.)

Act IV - Tomb Raider
They explore the Tomb of the Nine Gods to find and destroy the Soulmonger. I may tone down the deadliness a little. I've seen suggestions elsewhere to make the "haha you're dead!" traps be more "haha you're maimed!" instead. I might do something like that.

Act V - Lost City of Mezro
Assuming the players aren't sick of the jungle yet, I can run the Lost City of Mezro adventures so they can help Artus bring Mezro back and restore Ubtao and all that. Could be a fitting way to wrap the campaign up. If they are sick of the jungle by this point, though, I can always wrap it up after the Soulmonger or just send them off somewhere else. Perhaps they can go to Waterdeep with Wakanga's cleric buddy to delve into Undermountain for treasures to send back to him. Given how long it took this group to play through our last campaign, this is years away, so I needn't worry too much about it.

But now at least I have a decent overall structure, and I can start planning for the opening and the like!

 

[Scott Christian]

I like the botany suggestions. You could turn that into a mini-game if you wanted. In the end, you could use the ingredients and the mini-game to save Chult. Maybe there is a sickness sweeping through or maybe the ingredients are needed to earn money? I am curious though, do you plan to run this campaign for two years as well? If so, then you'll need deeper hooks than alchemy, botany or gold, at least in my experience.

 

[pukunui]

@Scott Christian Check out my last post above yours for a more up-to-date version of my plans.

 

[Scott Christian]

@Scott Christian Check out my last post above yours for a more up-to-date version of my plans.

I like it. Those are really well done by the way. Kudos to you.

 

[jayoungr]

Act II - Chult: Welcome to the Jungle
The PCs are robbed of some of their wealth by Aremag on the way to Port Nyanzaru. Furthermore, when they arrive at their new address, they find it is in need of repair. So what do they do? Maybe they take part in the dino races to make a quick buck. Maybe they team up with the Flaming Fist. Maybe they do some other odd jobs around the place. Here would be a good place for Faroul and Gondolo to tempt them with a dragon's treasure hoard, and for Musharib to tempt them with riches from Hrakhamar. Wakanga might also ask them to fetch Vorn's shield guardian, and maybe Azaka will ask them to fetch her mask from Firefinger.

I like the sandboxy sound of this part. Give 'em the hooks and let them decide which ones to follow up.

 

[jayoungr]

I just picked up this supplement in one of the DM's Guild charity bundles, and it seems like it might be a good fit for this idea:

Jungle Treks - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

Adventure levels can be adjusted from 1 to 10. I'll quote the more detailed content descriptions from the PDF:

Tavern Trouble. Use this adventure to start off your jungle trek! The party meets a contact at a tavern who has valuable information, but the contact is in trouble. Foes have come to settle debts. At the same time, a hunter enters the tavern with some strange lizards, which escape and swallow an important talisman. Find the right lizard, fight off the foes, and save the contact!

If Looks Could Kill. An herbalist explorer in the jungle needs help. A catoblepas herd is making their way through a swamp, killing everything they encounter, including valuable plants. Her request seems simple, but other members of her expedition have their own requests and are at odds with each other.

Ambush from Above! As the adventurers travel, they are attacked by grungs who swing from vines above. The grungs are all members of Team Pig, which they hold in humorously high esteem. Characters can use this to end the adventure peacefully, perhaps gaining allies.

Mystic River. As the adventurers travel downriver, they enter a stretch of river infused with elemental or magical qualities. The party must navigate dangerous white water, avoid carnivorous plants, and dodge the tail of a brontosaurus! A tiny elemental spirit adds humor to the adventure.

Mudslide! A torrential rain creates a dangerous environmental hazard in jungle-covered hills that can bury the party or sweep them into a different adventure. Even worse, mischevious monsters made of mud complicate survival.

Beautiful Plumage. Tropical harpies have infested a Chultan ruin in the jungle. Their beautiful song lures victims to them, forcing them to climb a dangerous tower. At the same time, a cursed magic item is animating the skeletal remains of the harpies’ meals below the tower. Meanwhile, a goblin queen’s ghost wants revenge and will use any trespassers as her tool of vengeance.

 

[NotAYakk]

OK, after writing down numerous options and running through them with the three members of my family who will be playing in this campaign (my wife and two of my daughters), I have settled on the following:

Act I: [Insert pithy name here]
The campaign begins with fresh-faced 1st level wannabe adventurers somewhere on the Sword Coast (probably Waterdeep). They meet Volo and impress him enough that he asks them to look for a missing friend of his. This friend went to explore the fabled Sunless Citadel and never came back. So the PCs gear up and head off to take a look.

I will have to make Volo's missing friend be one of the two people the evil druid has enthralled, so that they have to go through the entire adventure before finding the friend.

When they return to Volo for their reward, he admits he's a bit short on cash and so gives them the deed to an old tavern in Port Nyanzaru! He bought it when he was there recently on his book tour. In fact, he will also give them a copy of his Guide to Monsters for free, telling them they'll need it if they decide to go exploring in the jungle.

I'd be careful of the railroad here. I'd try to start them as friends of Volo "off screen".

Act II - Chult: Welcome to the Jungle
The PCs are robbed of some of their wealth by Aremag on the way to Port Nyanzaru. Furthermore, when they arrive at their new address, they find it is in need of repair. So what do they do? Maybe they take part in the dino races to make a quick buck. Maybe they team up with the Flaming Fist. Maybe they do some other odd jobs around the place. Here would be a good place for Faroul and Gondolo to tempt them with a dragon's treasure hoard, and for Musharib to tempt them with riches from Hrakhamar. Wakanga might also ask them to fetch Vorn's shield guardian, and maybe Azaka will ask them to fetch her mask from Firefinger.

I can potentially still work in the later part of the Dragon Heist storyline, with a fireball erupting outside their new home and an investigation that leads to the temple of Gond in Port Nyanzaru, where they see a little model of a Lantanese submarine and also find out about the Lantanese nimblewrights. Jarlaxle and co can be in town at this stage. There can still be a hunt for a hidden cache of treasure that the Amnians had to leave behind. Perhaps the trove is hidden in one of the Old City ziggurats.

Sure, tribute to Aremag. It works if they avoid the tribute tho. Maybe even make it a choice -- have some RPG on the boat, and they boat's tribute isn't enough for Aremag. They can either chip in, or watch as some of their sailor friends get sacrificed to him.

 

[pukunui]

Just a quick little update:

I held a session 0 for the campaign last weekend. We went over themes, expectations, rules, etc, then the players made their characters. Here's what they came up with:

1) Forest gnome fighter with the sage background. She's a "student of battle" who will take the battle master subclass at 3rd level.

2) Protector aasimar divine soul sorcerer with the anthropologist background. He's chosen "elf" as his adopted culture.

3) Calishite human rogue with the Urchin background. His backstory involves being raised by elves after being orphaned only to be captured by raiders and ending up on the streets of Baldur's Gate. This is to explain why he is good both in urban and natural environments, as he is intending to take the scout subclass at 3rd level. He also has the Mobile feat.

4) Black-scaled dragonborn ranger with the archaeologist background. She was born in Chult, but her parents moved her all over the world, studying ruins and the like. She'll be taking the horizon walker subclass at 3rd level.

5) Half-elf fighter with the folk hero background. Her human parent is Chultan. She wields a bow and will be taking the arcane archer subclass at 3rd level.


The ranger's player is keen to take up the cartographer company position once they set up their franchise. Not sure about any of the others.

 

[Coroc]

Put in some multipart artifact parts and clues to the locations of the parts all over the place, e.g. rod of seven parts.

That way you get a powerful tool, to give the players a direction if they get undecided on where to explore next. The beauty of this is, that you do not need to visit any of the locations in a given order, thereby maintaining the matrix hexcrawl approach.