Crucial clue missed (by a mile and a half) - What will you do?

[arscott]

The other question to ask yourself is this: What happens if they abandon the adventure right now? What happens if they leave the note behind the secret door and never learn what it says? (And I don't just mean what happens if the BBEG is left to carry out his plans without interference. Consider also what would happen if the clue, and the BBEG, didn't even exist.)

Has the bit of the adventure you've played led to a satisfying conclusion that leaves few loose ends? They why not just ditch it and go with a different adventure.

I'm running Expedition to Castle Ravenloft right now. Because of party goals, I wouldn't be surprised if the players left Barovia halfway through without exploring the castle or killing Strahd. And that would be okay with me--Means I get to use my next cool adventure idea that much sooner.

 

[malcolypse]

If your plot requires that they find the stash, just change "secret room" to "vault door", and they'll find it so you can continue your game.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Step 1 - Tell your players, before the campaign begins that this campaign will be a bit different, that there will be mysteries to solve, and that if they run through it in their typical slap-dash fashion then they will miss important clues. Hopefully your players are your friends... talk to them!

Step 2 - Remove two thirds of the clues from that single location, and place them elsewhere - multiple elsewheres. (Originally - Remove all single source, all important clues.)

Step 3 - Add a few duplicate clues to the adventure. If Major Wibberly in town is aiding the ruffians then give Mr Abercombie the sweets seller a rumor to give the PCs. Major Wibberly's house becomes another place to look, and, under duress Major Wibberly may have other information as well.

Step 4 - Prepare handouts. Tactile reward can go a long way on rewarding more exhaustive searches.

In short - T.R.A.P.....

Finally, don't be afraid to make failure an option. They won't find all the clues. They may not find enough of the clues. Plan for what will happen if they fail, then put in a place where they can reenter the major plot, but in a weaker position. Let them see the Pit Fiend spreading his wings on top of Bald Mountain, free at last after a thousand years....

The Auld Grump

 

[Jon_Dahl]

Just as a sidenote (spoiler warning again!).
If players fail to beat to this campaign (Shadows over Istivin), there will be a hidden war between NPCs. And with "hidden" I mean like totally hidden, no clues whatsoever. Hidden war somewhere far.

After the conclusion of this hidden war there will be a rift between Far Realms and prime material plane, resulting in apolypse. Pseudonatural creatures have minimum CR 17 and my players are at 9th level.

Well... I guess I'm just confirming here that maybe it would be best to just leave that mcguffin in plain sight...

 

[Tamlyn]

Just as a sidenote (spoiler warning again!).
If players fail to beat to this campaign (Shadows over Istivin), there will be a hidden war between NPCs. And with "hidden" I mean like totally hidden, no clues whatsoever. Hidden war somewhere far.

After the conclusion of this hidden war there will be a rift between Far Realms and prime material plane, resulting in apolypse. Pseudonatural creatures have minimum CR 17 and my players are at 9th level.

I've never read nor played this adventure, but from what I think you're saying, this is kinda poorly designed.

"Find the one (one!) secret compartment that leads to every single clue for the whole adventure or the world ends! Recommended for a party of 6 ninth-level rogues."

Of course, I could easily be misunderstanding...

 

[S'mon]

If they *have* to find it or the game stops, tell them they spot it - without rolling any dice.

 

[OnlineDM]

I'll echo some of the other commenters and say that if there's information that the party must receive in order for the adventure to continue, then you should just give it to them rather than counting on them to find it. Thus, the secret compartment falls open when the BBEG dies, or you tell the sharpest-eyed PC, "As you look around the BBEG's chamber, you notice a block that seems out of place, as though it might conceal a secret compartment..."

 

[The Shaman]

Is this a published adventure? Did someone actually get paid to write this?

 

[nedjer]

Good with The Rule of Three. This is sometimes made more obvious and/ or extended by simply making the clues parts of the same item or a basic progression, e.g. a map torn into four pieces or bell, book and candle.

 

[Stormonu]

Just as a sidenote (spoiler warning again!).
If players fail to beat to this campaign (Shadows over Istivin), there will be a hidden war between NPCs. And with "hidden" I mean like totally hidden, no clues whatsoever. Hidden war somewhere far.

After the conclusion of this hidden war there will be a rift between Far Realms and prime material plane, resulting in apolypse. Pseudonatural creatures have minimum CR 17 and my players are at 9th level.

Well... I guess I'm just confirming here that maybe it would be best to just leave that mcguffin in plain sight...

What is the value of this hidden war to the players? If the NPC's action leave no shadow for the players to pick up on, It'd be just as well if the DM just plopped an ancient red dragon in front of the players on a whim; there's no way the players could have seen that coming either, after all.

There may be no way for the PCs to stop the rift from occurring, but to me it's very bad form if the players have no foreshadowing or warning that this apocalypse is coming.