D&D 5E Gracklstugh

[Ralif Redhammer]

Droki is already pretty difficult to capture. My group got pretty frustrated with him, and went way overboard when they finally cornered him.

 

[Motorskills]

Thanks for the clarification, I re-read the section. Very fixable in my campaign.

 

[Celtavian]

Droki is already pretty difficult to capture. My group got pretty frustrated with him, and went way overboard when they finally cornered him.

His perception is low, so he is easy to sneak up on. He has a low strength, so he is easy to grapple. A few hits and a sleep spell and he's out. Or just grapple him and beat him down.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Heh, it was the monks' grapple that eventually got him. But my group is neither stealthy nor had the sleep spell to take advantage of.

Part of it is that the first time, they botched a couple of rolls and that alerted him – boots of speed and darkness got him out of there with ease. They also tried to rely on some charms, which he has advantage against.

His perception is low, so he is easy to sneak up on. He has a low strength, so he is easy to grapple. A few hits and a sleep spell and he's out. Or just grapple him and beat him down.

 

[Coredump]

I had a neat chase scene in mind through some of the caverns.....some back and forth, some light hearted fiascos.... just a fun encounter.

Then my stupid Vengeance Paladin used his CD to Abjure Enemy and stopped the short speed-demon in his tracks.... very anti-climactic.... but a really good use of CD.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

It's a shame that you didn't get to use your ideas, but props to the player for thinking smart.

My Out of the Abyss campaign has gone somewhat pear-shaped after the last adventure. They had gone back into the Whorlstone Tunnels to get in good with Themberchaud. Then they saw the dragon egg and their greed got the better of them. They ended up fleeing Gracklstugh with the egg in hand, with no guide or way of knowing how to get anywhere. So now they’re lost in the Underdark, lugging a 200 pound dragon egg, with both the drow and duergar mad at them.

I’m stuck with playing out the consequences of their actions while trying to keep the momentum going for the module. They just have images of having a pet red dragon to set fire to everything (if they can even figure out how to hatch the egg).

I’ll figure out how to manage it, but dang if I’m not irritated.

I had a neat chase scene in mind through some of the caverns.....some back and forth, some light hearted fiascos.... just a fun encounter.

Then my stupid Vengeance Paladin used his CD to Abjure Enemy and stopped the short speed-demon in his tracks.... very anti-climactic.... but a really good use of CD.

 

[CapnZapp]

It's a shame that you didn't get to use your ideas, but props to the player for thinking smart.

My Out of the Abyss campaign has gone somewhat pear-shaped after the last adventure. They had gone back into the Whorlstone Tunnels to get in good with Themberchaud. Then they saw the dragon egg and their greed got the better of them. They ended up fleeing Gracklstugh with the egg in hand, with no guide or way of knowing how to get anywhere. So now they’re lost in the Underdark, lugging a 200 pound dragon egg, with both the drow and duergar mad at them.

I’m stuck with playing out the consequences of their actions while trying to keep the momentum going for the module. They just have images of having a pet red dragon to set fire to everything (if they can even figure out how to hatch the egg).

I’ll figure out how to manage it, but dang if I’m not irritated.

I wouldn't worry.

After all, have they really deviated from the adventure script? No - their goal remains to escape to the surface.

I don't see why you can't continue as usual with the remaining chapters you plan to use (Neverlight and Blingdenstone, if they haven't visited already)

That Gracklrstugh is a write-off shouldn't change much in the greater perspective.

One evil idea is to replace the drow with an angry red dragon in the exit escape fight

 

[RealAlHazred]

I realized (somewhat belatedly) that Medium-sized PCs shouldn't be able to follow Droki in Whorlstone at all after he eats Pygmywort.

Droki shrinks from Small to Tiny, which must be required for him to be able to squeeze through the various cracks, else he wouldn't bother. A Medium-sized PC will only shrink to Small.

So Medium-sized PCs must use other means to track him. Halfling and Gnome PCs can (nominally) chase him the whole way.

In the sidebar on "Whorlstone Tunnels: General Features" in Out of the Abyss on page 68, it says:

Narrow Tunnels. The narrowest tunnels are barely 2 feet wide at their widest points. A Tiny creature can move through these tunnels unimpeded. while a Small creature must squeeze to pass through them. Medium and larger creatures can't fit through these narrow passageways.

The derro are normally Small creatures; eating the pygmywort allows them to be Tiny for 1 hour. In the Player's Handbook page 192, under "Squeezing into a Smaller Space," it says:

A creature can squeeze through a space that is large enough for a creature one size smaller than it. Thus, a Large creature can squeeze through a passage that's only 5 feet wide. While squeezing through a space, a creature must spend 1 extra foot for every foot it moves there, and it has disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage while it's in the smaller space.

Thus, the derro is eating the pygmywort so he can travel the Tiny tunnels at full speed; Medium-sized PCs who eat it to follow him are moving at half-speed, and are at disadvantage to attacks and give advantage to attackers while they are squeezing. I would describe him getting farther ahead to encourage spellcasters to use longstrider or expeditious retreat, and barbarians/monks to use their class abilities to follow; this way the party will be spread out when you hit them with a wandering monster attack. My preference would be the carrion crawler -- I'd put it on the ceiling, and have it notice the lead characters when they come through, and then attack the characters in the middle of the party, so that when the guys in front catch up to Droki, they have to deal with him alone. For added effect, if the party was trailed going into the Whorlstone Tunnels, the guys in the rear can be attacked while the middle guys are occupied with the carrion crawler and the lead guys by the derro with any reinforcements he has...

Hey, if it was easy, the duergar would have handled it on their own!

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Level-headed advice, thanks man. I should just look at it as a side-step. I’m still frustrated, but players will do that from time to time.

As for Themberchaud himself coming after them…now that is fiendish.

I wouldn't worry.

After all, have they really deviated from the adventure script? No - their goal remains to escape to the surface.

I don't see why you can't continue as usual with the remaining chapters you plan to use (Neverlight and Blingdenstone, if they haven't visited already)

That Gracklrstugh is a write-off shouldn't change much in the greater perspective.

One evil idea is to replace the drow with an angry red dragon in the exit escape fight

 

[Motorskills]

Having a blast in Gracklstugh, I'm happy accelerating everything (a future run-through might go more gentle).

The new player / PC was already assigned the Stone Guard's mission to capture Droki.

They lost Droki early on, but have burned through about half of Whorlestone. They've found the ladder to the docks, and they've rescued the dragon egg (they used the zurkhwood planks from the doors to fashion a stretcher to carry the damned thing ).

They've bypassed Buppido (who fooled Ront into killing Eldeth while the party were away, then convinced Ront to come with him to a "secret shrine" ), but will definitely run into him again before too long.

They are currently deciding what to do with the egg. They realise that the Keepers want it for control over Themberchaud, they realise that Themberchaud probably wants to destroy it. They are trying to weigh reward (treasure from Themberchaud) with risk (getting fried by Themberchaud)

I'm not clear on the King's role. Why would the party want to see him, what is the succubus trying to do?