D&D 5E (2014) Enhancing "Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus"

[jayoungr]

I see. I was talking specifically about the "party hook" -- aka "You are pressed into service by the Flaming Fist."

We're talking about different things, then, yeah.

 

[jayoungr]

I was only a player in this campaign, but our DM used the Alexandrian Remix and was quite happy with it. I don't know the details why exactly he liked it, but it seem to solve a lot of the structural issues: Remixing Avernus

Thanks, I'll give it a look! Though I don't know how much our group needs it to be done; Mr. Alexandrian treats it as a given that the structure of Tyranny of Dragons "needed" to be fixed, but my group was perfectly fine with it as written.

ETA:

Remixing Avernus

Okay, having looked it over a bit more, I can see that there's a lot of useful stuff here. It seems like it's worthwhile just for the "appendix" material alone (names, rumors, etc.). Thanks again for the link!

 

[jayoungr]

So, after talking about it for four years, I finally started running this adventure. I had session 1 last Saturday.

I'll get into some thoughts and tips drawn from my experience in future posts, but for now, I have a question for you folks. I want to throw in an interlude in between the Elfsong Tavern and the bathhouse dungeon. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, short encounter the group could stumble across? Might be connected to the bathhouse or might be separate. The group knows where the bathhouse is, so it can't be about finding it.

All the PCs except one are native to Baldur's Gate. They took the murder of "Dr. Death" as their Dark Secret. Amrik Vanthampur knows about it. I might be able to make use of that somehow?

Does anyone know of any good stand-alone encounters in one of the adventure supplements? Maybe something in one of the AL modules?

 

[pukunui]

So, after talking about it for four years, I finally started running this adventure. I had session 1 last Saturday.

I'll get into some thoughts and tips drawn from my experience in future posts, but for now, I have a question for you folks. I want to throw in an interlude in between the Elfsong Tavern and the bathhouse dungeon. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, short encounter the group could stumble across? Might be connected to the bathhouse or might be separate. The group knows where the bathhouse is, so it can't be about finding it.

All the PCs except one are native to Baldur's Gate. They took the murder of "Dr. Death" as their Dark Secret. Amrik Vanthampur knows about it. I might be able to make use of that somehow?

Does anyone know of any good stand-alone encounters in one of the adventure supplements? Maybe something in one of the AL modules?

There's some stuff in the Murder in Baldur's Gate extras (like the Launch Weekend module) that may be of use. I've sent you an email.

 

[jayoungr]

The hook as written is garbage. Figure out another way to get the PCs invested.

So, I have a hilarious story about this. Once the players actually made their characters, it turned out that the hook as written was actually perfect for this group! Most of the PCs grew up in Baldur's Gate; one had come to town a few years ago from Elturel and joined the Flaming Fist. They took the Dark Secret of murder, and the role of the Flaming Fist PC was that she had known about the murder and looked the other way. So it was super-simple to start off with that character being called in by Zodge, her superior, and told to deputize some adventuring types to track down the Cult of the Dead Three, because the rest of the Flaming Fist had their hands full with all the refugees pouring into the city. And it just so happened that she knew a bunch of people who owed her a big favor...!

 

[DarkCrisis]

Is there a reason this adventure is out of print?

 

[Reynard]

Is there a reason this adventure is out of print?

Probably because it is the only "tie in" to BG3 and if WotC is good at anything, it ISN'T synergizing the D&D brand.

 

[jayoungr]

Is there a reason this adventure is out of print?

I wasn't aware that it was? It's available on Amazon.

 

[jayoungr]

Resources for Chapter 1 (in Baldur's Gate)

My campaign is under way, and I wanted to share some resources that I'm finding useful.

First, here are some free ones:

A 48-page player guide to character options and the setting.

https://justicearman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/bg_-dia-session-zero.pdf

Another player's guide, largely overlapping with the first but including some extra backgrounds: Hellrider, Flaming Fist, and Order of the Gauntlet.

Fantastically Boring: Baldur's Gate's Sow's Foot District - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

Fantastically Boring: Baldur's Gate's Sow's Foot District - Welcome to Sow's Foot, a miserable little slum on the eastern edge of Baldur's Gate's Outer City. It is a muddy, mold-cr

www.dmsguild.com

A free DM's Guild supplement to a rundown neighborhood in Baldur's Gate. May be useful for side adventures or even a place for some of your PCs to call home.

And here are some that cost money but that I'm finding to be worthwhile:

Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus Complete DM's Bundle (maps, guides, cheatsheets and more) - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus Complete DM's Bundle (maps, guides, cheatsheets and more) - Advice, maps, cheatsheets, and handouts — EVERYTHING you need to run Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus Get all the

www.dmsguild.com

I don't remember who recommended this to me, but thank you! I'm finding that it is well worth the price, and we haven't even left Baldur's Gate yet. The suggestions for alternate story hooks, remixing to avoid the hollyphant for groups with low cuteness tolerance, and transitioning into the adventure from other campaigns are all really solid. I expect to get even more out of it when we actually head to Avernus, as there are supplemental side adventures with maps, stat blocks for more challenging devils, etc. Big thumbs-up on this one!

Monster Loot – Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

Monster Loot – Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus - I want to loot the abyssal chicken! When brave adventurers face the dangers of the world, they want something to show fo

www.dmsguild.com

My players want to loot everything they come across, so this series of supplements has been a lifesaver. The only thing I wish it included was suggested cash for the humanoids, because once I've described their equipment, the players tend to follow up with "So he didn't have any money on him?" (What can I say? They mostly go back to the AD&D days.)

Baldur's Gate - People, Places, and Shops - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

Baldur's Gate - People, Places, and Shops - Within these pages you will find bars, thieves' hideouts, restaurants, and more. All of them designed to breath life int

www.dmsguild.com

Helpful for when the gang wants to sell all the stuff they looted from various corpses.

Baldur's Gate: City Encounters - Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

Baldur's Gate: City Encounters - Baldur's Gate: City Encounters There’s no eliminating power in the City of Blood; it only changes hands. Baldur’s

www.dmsguild.com

I've already mined this for when I needed some extra encounters in town.

Murder in Baldur's Gate (5e) - Wizards of the Coast | D&D 5th Edition | Dungeon Masters Guild

Murder in Baldur's Gate (5e) - Duke Adrian Abdel is a living legend in the city of Baldur's Gate, and much of the city has gathered to celebrate him an

www.dmsguild.com

Also can be raided for extra city encounters. For example, the "Thieves!" event can be dropped in almost any time you need a little action, and you could also repurpose the assassination subplot for one of the remaining dukes (probably Dillard Portyr) if you want to play up the political situation in Baldur's Gate and don't want to bring in the entire plot from the Adventurer's League season.

 

[jayoungr]

Video Resources

Here are some video resource playlists for the adventure that I've found useful:

A DM's Guide to Descent into Avernus (prep videos) playlist by Tabletop Bob

Descent into Avernus playlist by @SlyFlourish