D&D 5E [Let's Read] Vault 5e: Uncharted Journeys

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The fact that blood hawks were in the Fiend Folio makes them worse, honestly. In a book with not-undead mummies covered in super-sticky tape, Slaadi, the githyanki and githzerai, not one but two giant demonic spiders, the Elemental Princes of Evil, cave-dwelling flightless bird men, and more weirdos, "this hawk is a real jerk" doesn't even come close to measuring up.

I would love someone to explain the appeal of the blood hawk, because I just don't see it. If nothing else, just use the regular hawks and note in the adventure that "this hawk is a douchebag." It doesn't need to be a new monster. I've made a "cave octopus" by sticking an octopus in a cave and describing its natural coloration as being pale. No new monster entry needed.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm going to be the lone voice of dissent and say that I found this version to be somewhat disappointing. I liked the idea of AiME's journey system. While it was a bit wonky and required some work to disconnect it from Middle Earth, it was nevertheless fairly simple and easy to use once you got the hang of it. I feel like they've made the system unnecessarily more complicated with this generic version. I particularly dislike the spend Hit Dice to recover abilities mechanic.

Taking new systems that only require a few pages to detail and making them the anchor of a hardcover book is always going to run the risk of them doing too much.

I would guess AiME's other systems (one social and one ... crafting, I think?) are going to similarly anchor books as well. We'll see how that transition goes.

 

[pukunui]

Taking new systems that only require a few pages to detail and making them the anchor of a hardcover book is always going to run the risk of them doing too much.

True. I'm mostly just disappointed because I really like the idea of making travel a more abstract thing with less opportunity to rest and refresh every day (to nip that whole "nova every random encounter" thing in the bud), but AiME's rules, as I said, are a bit wonky and perhaps too simple for use with regular 5e, while this new generic version just pushes things too far in the other direction for my taste with the addition of things like the once per journey role abilities and the hit dice recovery method and that.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

True. I'm mostly just disappointed because I really like the idea of making travel a more abstract thing with less opportunity to rest and refresh every day (to nip that whole "nova every random encounter" thing in the bud), but AiME's rules, as I said, are a bit wonky and perhaps too simple for use with regular 5e, while this new generic version just pushes things too far in the other direction for my taste with the addition of things like the once per journey role abilities and the hit dice recovery method and that.

It looks like there are other products out there, likely inspired by AiME, that do something similar, in a much tighter package.

 

[pukunui]

It looks like there are other products out there, likely inspired by AiME, that do something similar, in a much tighter package.

Oh, I'm sure there are plenty. I understand Level Up has something as well. It's just that I liked the AiME version and was hoping for an improved generic version of it here but that's not really what this is.

 

[pukunui]

Journey’s End is the final stage, and occurs when the party reaches their destination after completing all of the Encounters. This is known as an Arrival, and each PC rolls a Constitution save but can add the Quartermaster’s Constitution or Intelligence modifier to their own result. Success gives them temporary hit points equal to their level, while failure imposes a level of Exhaustion. If the entire party succeeds they all gain Inspiration, but lose Inspiration if they all fail. The Sentry rolls a number of d12 (minimum 1) equal to their Wisdom modifier for an Arrival table, and takes the highest result. The Arrival table gives a general description of the circumstances the PCs find themselves in, with higher results giving more relative safety. For instance, 1-2 has an Unforeseen Danger where hostile creatures are aware of the party’s arrival and have one round to prepare before they’d normally roll initiative, 10-11 is Relative Safety that grants them the opportunity to take a Short Rest, and 12 or higher is Safety that lets them take a Long Rest. Unlike Encounters, the circumstances of dangers are based more on the DM’s discretion and what they have planned for the destination in question.​

I find the Arrival stage to be weird.

Firstly, why is it that the Sentry determines the circumstances of the party's arrival at their destination? That seems like an odd choice to me.

Secondly, why am I even determining the circumstances at the destination randomly? Wouldn't I, as the DM, already know / be planning for things like an ally's execution or a dangerous ambush or a volcanic eruption? I suppose if the PCs are going somewhere random or have ended their journey prematurely, I might want to determine the circumstances of their whereabouts randomly, but ordinarily I would have the "status quo" at the PCs' destination established beforehand.

I think I prefer the way AiME's journey rules work, in that the arrival roll is more to determine what state the party is in when they arrive rather than what state their destination is in.

 

[Davies]

I would love someone to explain the appeal of the blood hawk, because I just don't see it. If nothing else, just use the regular hawks

That are CR 0 (instead of 1/8), have 1 hit point each (instead of 7), do 1 hit point damage (instead of 4) and don't have a Pack Tactics ability?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That are CR 0 (instead of 1/8), have 1 hit point each (instead of 7), do 1 hit point damage (instead of 4) and don't have a Pack Tactics ability?

That feels like an argument for re-writing the hawk.

 

[Rabulias]

I think of the blood hawk as a dire hawk.

 

[Dire Bare]

I would love someone to explain the appeal of the blood hawk, because I just don't see it. If nothing else, just use the regular hawks and note in the adventure that "this hawk is a douchebag." It doesn't need to be a new monster. I've made a "cave octopus" by sticking an octopus in a cave and describing its natural coloration as being pale. No new monster entry needed.

To me, they are "mean animals" but also "weird fantasy animals". They are small ways to make your setting slightly different from the real world. It's a classic fantasy trope to have not-quite-horses, not-quite-cats, not-quite-hawks, etc, etc . . .

I haven't used them yet, but I probably wouldn't use them as beasts for the PCs to fight, but descriptive flavor as the PCs travel through the wilderness.