Critical Role Call of the Netherdeep playthrough commentary [spoilers]

[Paul Farquhar]

I've been doing some prepping for chapter 3, and have noticed a few potential issues.

1) Players could potentially go straight from the gate to the dungeon, missing a ton of backstory and gaining two levels in quick succession. My solution: if they don't interact with the town they don't gain a level on entering the dungeon. Underleveled? Tough!

2) The town is crawling with faction agents from halfway around the world. Their presence and goals aren't well explained, especially for the Cobalt Soul.

3) The adventure assumes the Rivals align with the Vermillion Dawn. It actually seems more likely that the players align with that faction, since their agent is the only one who offers to pay anything. It's not too hard to have the Rivals align with Allsight instead, but the text doesn't suggest that. Cobalt Soul? What is their agenda again?

4) We have an outbreak of NPC Plot Armor of Invulnerability at the end of the chapter. Although the story can still continue if you ignore it and let her die.

 

[jgsugden]

I've been doing some prepping for chapter 3, and have noticed a few potential issues.

1) Players could potentially go straight from the gate to the dungeon, missing a ton of backstory and gaining two levels in quick succession. My solution: if they don't interact with the town they don't gain a level on entering the dungeon. Underleveled? Tough!...

You can also add to the Gloomstalker event and use it to introduce an incentive to return to town and deal with a hook. For example, Sebastion Allerton could have been out on a mission to recover a body and could need to be saved from the Gloomstalker threat. Then he could hire them to bring him back to safety.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

2) Their presence and goals aren't well explained, especially for the Cobalt Soul.

3) Cobalt Soul? What is their agenda again?

The Library of the Cobalt Soul likes to research and preserve knowledge in their libraries. The book says:

• An expedition from the Library of the Cobalt Soul is currently in the Betrayers’ Rise with an Aurora Watch escort, researching battles of the Calamity that took place within its halls.

So, they're in Bazzoxan because there's a ruin from the Calamity there that they want to research. They're kind of like a faction of Indiana Jones-types that want to learn everything they can about the world and make sure the knowledge doesn't ever get lost (probably trying to prepare if another Calamity-scale event happened again).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The Library of the Cobalt Soul likes to research and preserve knowledge in their libraries. The book says:

So, they're in Bazzoxan because there's a ruin from the Calamity there that they want to research. They're kind of like a faction of Indiana Jones-types that want to learn everything they can about the world and make sure the knowledge doesn't ever get lost (probably trying to prepare if another Calamity-scale event happened again).

The issue is, why these Cobalt Soul from Marquet, on the other side of the planet, rather than Cobalt Soul from Rexxentrum, which is the main base, and tens of thousands of miles closer?

Are they following the Vemillion Dream, if so, why? The Allsight is the organisation that keeps an eye on them. Or is the Vermillion Dream following them? In which case, why didn't they message head office and get them to send someone? How did they get there anyway? It would have been really useful to have the sequence of events immediately prior to the PCs' arrival spelled out.

The most likely scenario would be the Cobalt Soul in Marquet found something so important that they immediately travelled to the other side of the world to investigate (although there is no evidence that the clues they have are particularly important to anyone but the PCs). The Vermillion Dream fallowed them, and the Allsight followed the Vermillion Dream, on general principles.

 

[MockingBird]

How vital are the rivals? I haven't read it but I don't think I'd like to have to keep up with that. Can it be ran without them?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

How vital are the rivals? I haven't read it but I don't think I'd like to have to keep up with that. Can it be ran without them?

Not vital at all. There are a few places where the rivals could be useful if the PCs are inclined to go off in a different direction, but everything works fine without them.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Session Three.

Not much to report here. The party continued to travel the plains of Xhorhas on it's way to Bazzoxan. The random encounters are fine as such things go, but there are only 12 (including variants) so the party are going to meet most of them at some point. Better get used to single encounter days! It could easily be used for a Xhorhas sandbox, as could the whole of the first three chapters. The caravan stop map is beautiful, it's a shame more isn't done with it. The druid couldn't wait to chat with Big Yuyo.

I wrote a little bit of dialogue for the players to overhear, to better establish the personalities of their traveling companions.

Irvan: So, what do you reckon a Vestige is worth? I could use a huge pile of gold.

Galsariad: Have you listened to nothing? Only a tiny fraction of it’s true power has yet to be unlocked. Just think what it could do at full strength.

Maggie: I think it was unwise for us to involve ourselves in this. Such items are a magnet for trouble.

Demot: This quest fell to our friends, we should do everything in our power to help them.

Ayo: I don’t trust the scholarly one. He could easily be an Imperial spy.

Galsariad: Really? He seems to be the only person with any erudition around here! Not jealous, are we? Besides, I would expect a spy to be more discreet about their origins.

Maggie: Sometimes plain sight is the best place to hide.

Irvan: We should kill them all, it’s the only way to be sure. What? I’m joking!

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Session Four.

The party finally arrived at Bazzoxan! I'm a bit dubious about the encounter with 5 gibbering mouthers*. That's a lot of crowd control from the monsters! I'm of the view that encounters with most of the party CCed are unfun. I nerfed the radius of the mouthers' confusion effect from 20 feet to 5 feet so I didn't have an all confused party. A smart party would take advantage of their low speed and take them out at long range with archery, but the circumstances don't suggest that. Chapter 3 proper next week. A lot more could go wrong there!

*Possible alternatives: 8 maw demons or varguilles.

Approximate timings:
Chapter 1: 5 hours
Chapter 2: 6 hours

I've found an error in the tier 2 stat block for Irvan. His saving throws and skills where not updated from tier 1.

 

[MockingBird]

Session Four.

The party finally arrived at Bazzoxan! I'm a bit dubious about the encounter with 5 gibbering mouthers*. That's a lot of crowd control from the monsters! I'm of the view that encounters with most of the party CCed are unfun. I nerfed the radius of the mouthers' confusion effect from 20 feet to 5 feet so I didn't have an all confused party. A smart party would take advantage of their low speed and take them out at long range with archery, but the circumstances don't suggest that. Chapter 3 proper next week. A lot more could go wrong there!

*Possible alternatives: 8 maw demons or varguilles.

Approximate timings:
Chapter 1: 5 hours
Chapter 2: 6 hours

I've found an error in the tier 2 stat block for Irvan. His saving throws and skills where not updated from tier 1.

Sorry I keep asking questions but, I just bought this adventure. I've only read the first chapter. I like what I have read. I was going to run it for my kids and wife but was wondering if it would be too much for the younger kids. By too much I mean the lore and plot. Since you've made it into a good bit of the book in actual play would you think a couple 9 yr Olds, a 13 yr old and a 14 yr old would follow the plot? I know my wife would, she watches critical roll with me from time to time and is fairly familiar with the setting. Thanks

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Sorry I keep asking questions but, I just bought this adventure. I've only read the first chapter. I like what I have read. I was going to run it for my kids and wife but was wondering if it would be too much for the younger kids. By too much I mean the lore and plot. Since you've made it into a good bit of the book in actual play would you think a couple 9 yr Olds, a 13 yr old and a 14 yr old would follow the plot? I know my wife would, she watches critical roll with me from time to time and is fairly familiar with the setting. Thanks

I'm happy to answer any questions.

I agree that the amount of lore and plot complexity (not to mention difficulty) makes this adventure a poor choice for children. You could run Chapter 1 as a one-shot though. Or run it with just your wife, since it comes with a built-in band of sidekicks.